source: The Burning Dead

Rene Perez's zombie/sci-fi flick "The Burning Dead" puts some heat into the zombie lore by mixing supernatural with the classic disaster flick. The story is a standard disaster, impending doom scenario that has become the norm for such channels as Syfy. And for all tense and purposes, "The Burning Dead" seems specially produced for the channel that has brought cheap, CGI entertainment to American audiences. The same dramatic stakes arise in the story as a family reconnects in order to see that all survive the coming disaster. The twist here is the added supernatural element in the form of a curse which has lava fueled zombies raining down on the cast and picturesque landscape. As ridiculous and beyond sci-fi as the story premise sounds, the concept translates into a entertaining, all be it cheesy spectacle. The acting is pretty much what you would expect from a flick like this, sometimes contrived, often over-the-top scenes of melodrama mixed with screams and amusing dialog delivery. If you have enjoyed or delighted in any of the "made for Syfy" flicks similar to this film then "The Burning Dead" will give equal bemusement. It is pretty much a cookie cutter assortment of CGI induced disaster action sequences and practical make-up effects zombies. A lot of the situations and dialog does seem far too familiar as with most of these stories, but like junk food, it is all about the melodrama and cheap theatrics. Overall, "The Burning Dead" will not pull in any new fans to this CGI infused genre, but it holds its own against anything Syfy or the "straight-to-video" market puts up next to it. Trejo fans may be slightly disappointed considering the limited part he has in the film, but the scenes that his character is in are some of the more grounded ones. I felt he was under utilized , but that is just my thoughts. For what "The Burning Dead" is, the film has some amusing, and entertaining moments. The zombies, when not drowned in CGI emptiness, fall more toward the "Zombi" style than the "Night Of The Living Dead" creatures.

I gave it a "1" because I could not select -1000 . Special effects remind me of my science fair volcanoes I used to make with baking soda. Really really awful and not even as good as most video game cgi effects. The makeup is just as bad. The zombies are pathetic. Makes me appreciate Walking Dead. Like, wow. Trevo, my man "Machete", is hilarious as the American Indian with obscure wisdom. Movie makes zero sense and is barely funny. Who is this for? I will tell you. If you are having a beer party, attending a frat party, etc and are extremely buzzed then MAYBE you can watch this. You will still make fun of every scene, but at least you have an excuse for watching this dumbness. I have seen bad zombie movies. But this is the worst by far.

Creatively fresh and brilliantly original, this film has a heroic sheriff attempting against all odds to save a family from an erupting volcano and the cursed zombies that are set free by the event. These are not the clichéd undead populating every zombie film cranked out. Incredibly well done special effects and CGI work show lava filled creatures unlike anything ever seen before and they are stunning. Brought to life by a curse, their barbarity is breathtaking and there are breathtaking sequences of volcanic explosiveness of true realism. The imagery created by director Rene Perez and the performances he coaxes from his actors are both haunting in their intensity. Danny Trejo is particularly superb in what must be ranked as one of his finest performances. The thrills and momentum of the film never diminish and as a cinema horror adventure, it is both a tremendous experience and deeply satisfying.

This is the worst movie I have ever seen! First zombie movie I have ever seen where the characters only eat intestines and not brains! Danny Trejo is in the movie for a few minutes but is the star? Horrible acting. This movie even gives class B movies a bad name. A bullet to the head doesn't kill these zombies but a fire extinguisher does? Pathetic. What's up with the dude with the red bandana? I couldn't stop laughing every time I saw him. Hilarious! Jenny Lin was jumping around with her * hanging out looking plain stupid. Please quit acting and do us all a favor.

The Burning Dead